Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

Concept Definitions
Perceived tourist risk
A cognitive state of mind that, if beyond an acceptable
level, might affect travel behavior in various ways mainly through nonbooking,
cancellations, and evacuation of affected destinations.
Security information
Any information (formal or informal) on the security sit-
uation in a given affected destination that originates from either the generating
markets or the receiving destination.
Security communication
Conveying information on the security level and secu-
rity situation in a given affected travel destination through various communication
channels such as the mass media, travel advisories, or travel agents.
Acceptable risk threshold (ART)
An individual level of perceived risk that
marks a possible change in tourists’ behavioral pattern. If one’s perceived risk is
higher than the ART then that person will either avoid booking a given affected
destination; cancel the trip if the booking had already been made; or evacuate the
destination if in the middle of the holiday.
Proactive security information platform
A security information and risk eval-
uation system operated by the affected destinations that is supposed to balance the
distorted security image generated by other information sources and thus con-
tributes to an effective crisis-management strategy.
Review Questions
1. What are the relationships among travel information, travel behavior, and secu-
rity situations?
2. How might perceived risk change tourists’ behavior?
3. How do the various security information sources affect tourists’ risk perception
and what are the limitations and the advantages of each source?
4. How does security information communication fit into risk reduction strategies?
5. What is the main goal of a security information platform provided by the
receiving destinations?
6. Why is the Internet such an important tool in operating the proposed security
information platform?